February 29, 2008

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I've made an honest effort to read the literary classics. I even made it a third of the way through Ulysses. But the genre I always end up coming back to is science fiction. Especially "hard sf"; science fiction that allows any leap of the authors imagination within the boundaries of plausible science. What great fun to read about distant corners of the universe, the far future or explorations of the here and now that are not just flights of fancy. They could in some way really happen.

Here are some writers who do it particularly well:
  • Larry Niven (Mote in God's Eye is a must)
  • Greg Bear ( The Forge of God and especially it's sequel Anvil of Stars are excellent)
  • David Brin
  • Gregory Benford
  • Dave Wolverton (I can hardly believe that On My Way to Paradise was the first novel he wrote)
  • Orson Scott Card (not necessarily "hard" but you'll never hear me complain)
  • Stanislaw Lem ( you may have read Solaris, but try Fiasco)
  • John Brunner ( A Maze of Stars takes an interesting look at where we are and what we're up to a hundred thousand years in the future)
  • Vernor Vinge ( A Fire Upon the Deep may be the best space opera you'll ever read)
  • Michael Swanwick (Stations of the Tide)
I could go on and on but how about you? I'd love it if you'd leave a comment with your favorite Sf authors and books.
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I get a kick out of reading some such then splashing some paint around to make a scene inspired by what I read. The above are a few examples.

February 21, 2008

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We've begun our head painting class. Though we mostly use oils, I'm encouraging students to do much smaller, quicker studies like this one for practice outside of class.
Practice, practice.
This is watercolor with opaque white. To see the setup and colors I use for these, go to the landscape sketchbook link and scroll down to the very first post.
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February 14, 2008

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.This one brings back good memories of sitting out on the shore sketching birds.
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February 07, 2008

Clark Allen 1925-2008

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Clark Allen passed away last week. He was a delightful man and a favorite subject for local artists, especially me. I started drawing and painting Clark in '92 when I first moved to LA and have been working with him off and on ever since. I have stacks of drawings and paintings of him that I will scan and post here from time to time.

He lived a more colorful life than many of us can hope for, (I thought his stories were tall tales until I visited his home and we looked through his old photo albums) and it was my pleasure to get to know him. He will be missed.
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